Compound archery bows typically have a riser with a handle portion grippable by the user and a pair of limbs connected to the riser and extending from opposed ends of the riser with one or more strings trained around a cam at the free end of each limb. The risers are formed from a metal, such as aluminum, due to its strength to weight characteristics. The metal riser may be either extruded or cut from bar stock. Attempts have been made to form risers of archery bows from carbon fiber or other composite materials. One method is a so-called “resin transfer molding process” in which fibers are placed loosely into a mold and under pressure a resin is injected into the mold. However, the loose fibers in the mold are displaced by the injected pressurized resin resulting in voids in the formed riser, dry fibers not saturated by resin and areas rich in resin but without sufficient fibers therein creating weak spots or voids in the riser. Attempts to fire an archery bow having such a riser quickly results in failure of the riser by cracking or other fracture. Particularly hazardous is the “dry firing” of a poorly formed polymeric riser due to the increased vibration and stresses on the bow. Such poorly formed composite risers fail quickly when dry fired. Further, loose, random positioning of fibers in the mold and the displacement of fibers due to the injection of the resin into the mold, results in very inconsistent parts from one riser to the next. Unfortunately, the structural integrity of any given riser is unknown, absent obvious deformations of flaws. Accordingly, the location of voids or resin rich areas vary from part to part and could not be readily detected until the bow was fired and failure, such as fracture of the riser, occurred.